Video shows hippo charges boat in northern Botswana as a group of tourists sped away from the animal on the Okavango Delta. Footage recorded by traveler Oznur Bell captured the tense seconds as the vessel accelerated to avoid the rapidly advancing hippo.
Bell said she was on the boat Sunday with her three children and a close friend, traveling between camps during a stay in Botswana. “It was one of the most terrifying moments I’ve ever experienced,” she said, describing a surge of adrenaline when the animal began pursuing the boat.
According to Bell, one of the trip’s guides, who was at the helm, first spotted the hippo and slowed in an effort not to disturb it. Moments earlier, the group had encountered an elephant, and Bell still had her phone in hand filming when the hippo appeared.
She said the guide quickly realized the animal had been agitated despite attempts to avoid provoking it. Bell recalled the guide warning the passengers to hold on as he prepared to accelerate.
“The moment we accelerated, we looked back and realized the hippo was chasing us,” Bell said. Her video shows the mammal thrusting its head and upper body out of the water in powerful bursts as the boat’s wake grows. She said the guides’ nervous smiles reflected relief rather than amusement. “For a few moments, every single person in the boat was genuinely worried.”
Bell later posted the clip to her Instagram account and said she was grateful to have recorded the incident. Afterward, the guides told the group that while hippos are highly territorial, witnessing a high-speed pursuit like this is uncommon.
Hippo charges boat incidents are uncommon
Hippos are herbivores and the third-largest land mammals after elephants and white rhinos, with adults weighing up to 8,000 pounds. Conservation groups note the animals are adapted to semi-aquatic life and can move quickly in water and on land. The African Wildlife Foundation explains that four webbed toes help distribute weight on land, while short, powerful legs provide propulsion in the water.
The number of fatal encounters between hippos and people is uncertain, though estimates suggest at least 500 deaths annually. The World Wildlife Fund classifies the species as vulnerable and cites human encroachment as one of the biggest pressures on hippo populations.
“I feel incredibly lucky that I happened to be filming,” Bell said, adding that without the clip, the extraordinary encounter would have remained only a memory.